Mencius Chapter 7

1. Mencius said, 'Opportunities of time vouchsafed by Heaven are
not equal to advantages of situation afforded by the Earth, and advantages
of situation afforded by the Earth are not equal to the union arising from
the accord of Men.

2. 'There is a city, with an inner wall of three lî in
circumference, and an outer wall of seven.-- The enemy surround and attack
it, but they are not able to take it. Now, to surround and attack it, there
must have been vouchsafed to them by Heaven the opportunity of time, and in
such case their not taking it is because opportunities of time vouchsafed
by Heaven are not equal to advantages of situation afforded by the
Earth.

3. 'There is a city, whose walls are distinguished for their height, and
whose moats are distinguished for their depth, where the arms of its
defenders, offensive and defensive, are distinguished for their strength
and sharpness, and the stores of rice and other grain are very large. Yet
it is obliged to be given up and abandoned. This is because advantages of
situation afforded by the Earth are not equal to the union arising from the
accord of Men.

4. 'In accordance with these principles it is said, "A people is bounded
in, not by the limits of dykes and borders; a State is secured, not by the
strengths of mountains and rivers; the kingdom is overawed, not by the
sharpness and strength of arms." He who finds the proper course has many to
assist him. He who loses the proper course has few to assist him. When
this,-- the being assisted by few,-- reaches its extreme point, his own
relations revolt from the prince. When the being assisted by many reaches
its highest point, the whole kingdom becomes obedient to the prince.

5. 'When one to whom the whole kingdom is prepared to be obedient,
attacks those from whom their own relations revolt, what must be the
result? Therefore, the true ruler will prefer not to fight; but if he do
fight, he must overcome.'

1. As Mencius was about to go to court to see the king, the king sent a
person to him with this message,-- 'I was wishing to come and see you. But
I have got a cold, and may not expose myself to the wind. In the morning I
will hold my court. I do not know whether you will give me the opportunity
of seeing you then.' Mencius replied, 'Unfortunately, I am unwell, and not
able to go to the court.'

2. Next day, he went out to pay a visit of condolence to some one of the
Tung-kwoh family, when Kung-sun Ch'âu said to him, 'Yesterday, you
declined going to the court on the ground of being unwell, and to-day you
are going to pay a visit of condolence. May this not be regarded as
improper?' 'Yesterday,' said Mencius, 'I was unwell; to-day, I am better:--
why should I not pay this visit?'

3. In the mean time, the king sent a messenger to inquire about his
sickness, and also a physician. Mang Chung replied to them, 'Yesterday,
when the king's order came, he was feeling a little unwell, and could not
go to the court. To-day he was a little better, and hastened to go to
court. I do not know whether he can have reached it by this time or not.'
Having said this, he sent several men to look for Mencius on the way, and
say to him, 'I beg that, before you return home, you will go to the
court.'

4. On this, Mencius felt himself compelled to go to Ching Ch'âu's,
and there stop the night. Mr. Ching said to him, 'In the family, there is
the relation of father and son; abroad, there is the relation of prince
and minister. These are the two great relations among men. Between father
and son the ruling principle is kindness. Between prince and minister the
ruling principle is respect. I have seen the respect of the king to you,
Sir, but I have not seen in what way you show respect to him.' Mencius
replied, 'Oh! what words are these? Among the people of Ch'î there is
no one who speaks to the king about benevolence and righteousness. Are they
thus silent because they do not think that benevolence and righteousness
are admirable? No, but in their hearts they say, "This man is not fit to be
spoken with about benevolence and righteousness." Thus they manifest a
disrespect than which there can be none greater. I do not dare to set forth
before the king any but the ways of Yâo and Shun. There is therefore
no man of Ch'î who respects the king so much as I do.'

5. Mr. Ching said, 'Not so. That was not what I meant. In the Book of
Rites it is said, "When a father calls, the answer must be without a
moment's hesitation. When the prince's order calls, the carriage must not
be waited for." You were certainly going to the court, but when you heard
the king's order, then you did not carry your purpose out. This does seem
as if it were not in accordance with that rule of propriety.'

6. Mencius answered him, 'How can you give that meaning to my conduct?
The philosopher Tsang said, "The wealth of Tsin and Ch'û cannot be
equalled. Let their rulers have their wealth:-- I have my benevolence. Let
them have their nobility:-- I have my righteousness. Wherein should I be
dissatisfied as inferior to them?" Now shall we say that these sentiments
are not right? Seeing that the philosopher Tsang spoke them, there is in
them, I apprehend, a real principle.-- In the kingdom there are three
things universally acknowledged to be honourable. Nobility is one of them;
age is one of them; virtue is one of them. In courts, nobility holds the
first place of the three; in villages, age holds the first place; and for
helping one's generation and presiding over the people, the other two are
not equal to virtue. How can the possession of only one of these be
presumed on to despise one who possesses the other two?

7. 'Therefore a prince who is to accomplish great deeds will certainly
have ministers whom he does not call to go to him. When he wishes to
consult with them, he goes to them. The prince who does not honour the
virtuous, and delight in their ways of doing, to this extent, is not worth
having to do with.

8. 'Accordingly, there was the behaviour of T'ang to Î Yin:-- he
first learned of him, and then employed him as his minister; and so without
difficulty he became sovereign. There was the behaviour of the duke Hwan to
Kwan Chung:-- he first learned of him, and then employed him as his
minister; and so without difficulty he became chief of all the
princes.

9. 'Now throughout the kingdom, the territories of the princes are of
equal extent, and in their achievements they are on a level. Not one of
them is able to exceed the others. This is from no other reason, but that
they love to make ministers of those whom they teach, and do not love to
make ministers of those by whom they might be taught.

10. 'So did T'ang behave to Î Yin, and the duke Hwan to Kwan
Chung, that they would not venture to call them to go to them. If Kwan
Chung might not be called to him by his prince, how much less may he be
called, who would not play the part of Kwan Chung!'

1. Ch'an Tsin asked Mencius, saying, 'Formerly, when you were in
Ch'î, the king sent you a present Of 2,400 taels of fine silver, and
you refused to accept it. When you were in Sung, 1,680 taels were sent to
you, which you accepted; and when you were in Hsieh, 1,200 taels were sent,
which you likewise accepted. If your declining to accept the gift in the
first case was right, your accepting it in the latter cases was wrong. If
your accepting it in the latter cases was right, your declining to do so in
the first case was wrong. You must accept, Master, one of these
alternatives.'

2. Mencius said, 'I did right in all the cases.

3. 'When I was in Sung, I was about to take a long journey. Travellers
must be provided with what is necessary for their expenses. The prince's
message was, 'A present against travelling-expenses." Why should I have
declined the gift?

4. 'When I was in Hsieh, I was apprehensive for my safety, and taking
measures for my protection. The message was, "I have heard that you are
taking measures to protect yourself, and send this to help you in procuring
arms." Why should I have declined the gift?

5. 'But when I was in Ch'i, I had no occasion for money. To send a man a
gift when he has no occasion for it, is to bribe him. How is it possible
that a superior man should be taken with a bribe?'

1. Mencius having gone to P'ing-lû, addressed the governor of it,
saying, 'If one of your spearmen should lose his place in the ranks three
times in one day, would you, Sir, put him to death or not?' 'I would not
wait for three times to do so,' was the reply.

2. Mencius said, 'Well then, you, Sir, have likewise lost your place in
the ranks many times. In bad calamitous years, and years of famine, the old
and feeble of your people, who have been found lying in the ditches and
water-channels, and the able-bodied, who have been scattered about to the
four quarters, have amounted to several thousand.' The governor replied,
'That is a state of things in which it does not belong to me Chü-hsin
to act.'

3. 'Here,' said Mencius, 'is a man who receives charge of the cattle and
sheep of another, and undertakes to feed them for him;-- of course he must
search for pasture-ground and grass for them. If, after searching for
those, he cannot find them, will he return his charge to the owner? or will
he stand by and see them die?' 'Herein,' said the officer, 'I am
guilty.'

4. Another day, Mencius had an audience of the king, and said to him,
'Of the governors of your Majesty's cities I am acquainted with five, but
the only one of them who knows his faults is K'ung Chü-hsin.' He then
repeated the conversation to the king, who said, 'In this matter, I am the
guilty one.'

1. Mencius said to Ch'î Wâ, 'There seemed to be reason in
your declining the governorship of Ling-ch'iû, and requesting to be
appointed chief criminal judge, because the latter office would afford you
the opportunity of speaking your views. Now several months have elapsed,
and have you yet found nothing of which you might speak?'

2. On this, Ch'î Wâ remonstrated on some matter with the
king, and, his counsel not being taken, resigned his office and went
away.

3. The people of Ch'î said, 'In the course which he marked out for
Ch'î Wâ he did well, but we do not know as to the course which
he pursues for himself.'

4. His disciple Kung-tû told him these remarks.

5. Mencius said, 'I have heard that he who is in charge of an office,
when he is prevented from fulfilling its duties, ought to take his
departure, and that he on whom is the responsibility of giving his opinion,
when he finds his words unattended to, ought to do the same. But I am in
charge of no office; on me devolves no duty of speaking out my opinion:--
may not I therefore act freely and without any constraint, either in going
forward or in retiring?'

2. Kung-sun Ch'âu. said to Mencius, 'The position of a high
dignitary of Ch'î is not a small one; the road from Ch'î to
T'ang is not short. How was it that during all the way there and back, you
never spoke to Hwan about the matters of your mission?' Mencius replied,
'There were the proper officers who attended to them. What occasion had I
to speak to him about them?'